The Kings (Mike Malone), Cavaliers (Mike Brown) and Celtics (Brad Stevens) all moved quickly, filling their vacancies between three and eight days. Philadelphia took the longest time, spending almost four months (118 days) between Doug Collins’s resignation and hiring Brett Brown.

The other seven organizations endured hiring periods that lasted from 17-59 days.

Lindsey said the Jazz hadn’t spent any time meeting about potential candidates before Monday when he said the final decision on Corbin’s fate was made. Although rumors swirled about a coaching change being inevitable after a 25-57 rebuilding season, there were Jazz employees who believed Corbin would get another chance late into the evaluation process.

“Now that the decision’s closed, we’ll meet quickly, internally,” Lindsey said. “We’ll set some criteria. We’ll look at some objective measures. We’ll look at some subjective measures about coaches and who’s going to be the new leader of the Utah Jazz and define some timelines about who we’re going to interview.”

Lindsey acknowledged that he understands his former acquaintances from Houston and San Antonio might be considered logical candidates by outsiders. Former University of Utah coach Jim Boylen is one of those names to have already surfaced, as sources have indicated that the former Houston co-worker and friend of Lindsey’s is his top choice.

Lindsey won’t talk about candidate names, of course. But he isn’t shying away from the fact he’ll lean on experiences from his old jobs and mentors in this process.

“Will Gregg Popovich’s influence weigh on me? Will my Houston experience with Rudy (Tomjanovich) and Jeff (Van Gundy) and Carroll (Dawson) and Leslie (Alexander) influence me? Absolutely,” Lindsey said. “There’s no way to separate (it). It would be like you trying to separate yourselves from your parents.”

Ultimately, though, Lindsey said the new hire will be decided upon as a group, just as the decision to let Corbin go after three-plus years was made. The decision-makers include Jazz owner Gail Miller, CEO Greg Miller, Miller Sports Properties president Steve Miller, team president Randy Rigby, O’Connor, CFO Bob Hyde and Lindsey.

“Those (former experiences) will all have influences, but the team influence around the Jazz will dictate what we do going forward,” Lindsey said. “ I’m very confident in the group and our experience and our networking contacts that we’ll come up with a good decision coming forward.”

Continued development of the young core will be a high priority. Defense will also be critical, especially after the Jazz finished ranked 30th this season. But Lindsey believes the game is won and lost on both ends, so it’s more complex than just wanting a defensive improvement.

“What I find is important is everything. All the details really matter,” Lindsey said. “You can be great offensively and be terrible defensively and your season will end prematurely. And you can switch that ratio. You’d better be great at both at the end of the day.”

In terms of the length of search, if Boylen or any other assistants on current playoff teams are targeted by the Jazz, the hiring process could be elongated because teams aren’t likely to allow important assets to search for new opportunities until they’re eliminated.

It’s also possible the Jazz could be forced to wait until the end of the European season if a coach like Italy’s Ettore Messina (CSKA Moscow) proves to the preferred option, as has been reported by national writers.

To that point, one source told the Deseret News the Jazz “will be the team that hires a Euro coach.”

Popular Comments

I haven't heard many people mention Kevin Ollie in relation to the Jazz
coaching opening. If the Jazz aren't going to hire an established head
coach and want to hire someone to grow ith the team, his performance in coaching
UConn to the
More..

7:44 a.m. April 23, 2014

Top comment

Draft dumbie

Farmington, UT

I was wrong about Ollie having some NBA assistant coaching experience. He has
only been an assistant coach at UConn, prior to becoming head coach at UConn.
However, apparently his last few years in the NBA, he was kind of a "coach
in the locker
More..

8:24 a.m. April 23, 2014

Top comment

Idahotransplant

West Jordan, UT

Correct me if I am wrong but did I not read or hear on the radio that Jerry
Sloan and Phil Johnson did not like the situation that Ty Corbin was dealt and
the decision to let him go?

Jody is a sports writer who covers the Utah Jazz for the Deseret News (yeah, rough life). He also writes about his fitness/health journey and triathlon exploits in his "Losing It!" column. He has been with the paper since more ..